


to climb steep hills

by galvanator



Series: Reylo Drabbles [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Child Neglect, Childhood Friends, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, HEA, Prompt Fic, Reylo - Freeform, babies ever after, reylo au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26245633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galvanator/pseuds/galvanator
Summary: No one really talks to the new girl who sits in the back of the class. She’s been here a month but kids are afraid of her and teachers are too overworked to be able to solve a problem like Rey.No one really talks to the new girl - except for Ben.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Reylo Drabbles [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689943
Comments: 40
Kudos: 361





	to climb steep hills

**Author's Note:**

> based on this prompt from [@reylo_prompts](https://twitter.com/reylo_prompts): 5 year old Ben Solo asks his mom to put extra food in his lunch bag for his new friend Rey.
> 
> -
> 
> hi friends! this prompt was posted and literally _sang _to me. i posted this initially as a twitfic, but determined it should probs be on here as well. thank you so much to[ @reylo_prompts](https://twitter.com/reylo_prompts) and everyone who has supported this lil story ♡__

**Kindergarten**

No one really talks to the new girl who sits in the back of the class. She’s been here a month but kids are afraid of her and teachers are too overworked to be able to solve a problem like Rey.

No one really talks to the new girl- except for Ben. He sits next to her in class and watches her while she stares outside of the window. Ben wouldn’t go so far as to call them friends, since they don’t really talk, but they always partner up on projects and she sits next to him at lunch.

‘ _She’s small_ ’ he thinks the first time he sees her. The homey sweater she wears is too big on her and exposes her collarbones most of the time. The first time he offers her food, his apple that his mom always berates him for not eating, Rey looks at him with tears in her eyes. He ends up giving her his whole lunch, uncaring for the rumbling of his stomach for the rest of the day.

When he gets home from school that day, Ben waits anxiously in the kitchen for his mom to get home from her office. When she finally does, and is only halfway through the door, Ben blurts out: “I need a second lunch!”

The words ring in the air for a moment, Leia looking down at him with confusion.

“Do you not like the lunches I pack for you?” Leia asks, a slight snap in her voice that scares Ben for a moment. He wonders if he should back down, but the memory of Rey’s hazel eyes brimming with tears strengthens his resolve.

“It’s not for me. It’s for my friend Rey. She doesn’t get lunch,” Ben explains. Leia tuts.

“That sounds like something the school should take up with Rey’s parents,” Leia says.

“She doesn’t have them. Parents. She’s an orphan.” That stops Leia dead in her tracks.

Kids started talking about it when Rey first came to school. One of the office workers had told one of the mom’s on the PTA who told their kid who told the rest of the school. Not that it really mattered how everyone found out, because the first day of school, Rey showed up with dirty overalls, worn down converse, and the back pack Poe Dameron’s mom had given to the Goodwill the year before. No one needed to play telephone to figure out Rey didn’t come from a good home.

“Your friend, Rey, she doesn’t get lunches from the school?” Leia asks. Ben shakes his head. Leia’s face softens and she suddenly bends down to hug Ben close. When she finally pulls away, Leia looks at her son, brushes the black hair out of his eye and tells him: “I’ll make two lunches from now on, but you have to promise me something.”

“What?”

“If you ever see bruises on Rey, big ones, like the kind you got when you feel off the tree at Uncle Luke’s, you need to tell me, okay?”

Ben doesn’t know why that would be important, but he agrees anyway.

-

The next morning, Ben rushes to school with the two lunch box’s in hand, and immediately shoves the lunch Ben’s mom told him to give Rey, in her face.

“I asked my mom to make you lunch since you don’t have any and she did. Look, your lunch box has Galaxy Battles characters on it, just like mine!” Ben says, holding the tin box in-between them. Rey’s eye are trained on it while her hands tentatively go out to grab it.

“Is this… _mine_?” She asks, still looking at the box.

“Well, yeah. Now we can both eat lunch together and play-“

Ben is cut of by Rey hugging him so tightly he almost can’t breathe. Ben just hugs her back.

* * *

**5th Grade**

“But, Rey, you have to come!” Ben whines. “You’re my best friend! And stupid Poe is gonna be there and my mom will force me to hang out with him if you don’t come.” Rey drops down from the monkey bars directly in front of Ben.

“I _want_ to come, I just don’t know if I can. I used all my bus change to by the new Pokemon card from Snap and I probably won’t get anymore until we get some new cars at the junk yard,” Rey tells him.

“What if my dad comes to pick you up and bring you back? Do you think Plutt would let you come then?”

Rey scoffs.

“You know he won’t let me go anywhere,” She grumbles. The both walk over to the tree, their tree, that they eat lunch at every day. Ben’s ‘lunch box’ is now more of a cooler that Leia fills for the both of them every morning, without fail. It’s a Friday so that means Leia has put even more stuff in it for Rey to take home for the weekend.

Ben and Rey divide the food among them, him opting for a goghurt pack and her a bag of chips.

“I do want to come…” Rey says after a while, “I just don’t know how to get there and back without making Plutt mad. He doesn’t like it when people come into the yard without buying something, even just for a few minutes, and I don’t want him to fight your dad.”

“My dad would win,” Ben shrugs.

“I know, but… I don’t want to be any trouble.”

Ben looks over at Rey, still wearing the same sweater from when they were in kindergarten together. Now they’re in fifth grade, preparing to graduate to middle school, and Rey was going to be the only one in their class who wouldn’t be attending the graduation party his mom was throwing. His best friend, with the freckles and scuffed up knees, who he told was gross because she’s a girl but he actually thinks she’s prettier than Princess Belle, won’t be with him.

There’s a hollowness in his chest when he thinks about not being next to Rey. Ben _hates_ it, even more than having to spend the weekdays at Uncle Lukes house during the summer. So he thinks of anything else and hopes that somehow Rey will be able to make it.

-

Ben is sitting in the tree house his dad made him for his 8th birthday, scowling at the other kids in the yard. As always, Poe was the star of the show making everyone pay attention to him. Ben just knows that if Rey were here, she’d distract him from wanting to shove a sock in Dameron’s mouth.

Ben is so lost in fantasizing about creative ways to shut Poe up, he doesn’t realize his dad comes to sit down next to him.

“Kid’s gotta big mouth,” Han says.

“I know,” Ben grits out. Han peers down at Ben from the corner of his eye.

“Wanna tell me why you’re over here while all your friends are over there?” He asks.

“They’re not my _friends_ , they’re my classmates. And I don’t like them. The only person in my class that I like is Rey.”

“She couldn’t make it today?”

“No… didn’t want to get in trouble with her foster father.”

“We could go stage a break out, ya know. Sneak her out and bring her over here.”

Ben’s heart fills with hope at his fathers offer, but then Rey’s words sound in his memory.

“Nah… I asked her that too and she said no. I don’t want her to be mad at me.” Ben tugs at the grass beside him, pulling up handfuls and depositing them into a pile. Han is silent beside him for a while; it’s comfortable.

Behind them, the doorbell rings in the house, making Han and Ben look at each other.

“More classmates?” Han asks, Ben shrugs.

“I hope not,” Ben says while standing up. He walks into the house, tracking rogue blades of grass all over the floor that he would later blame on Poe to hi mother.

Without hesitation, Ben yanks open the door, hoping that whoever is behind it has the wrong house and will be on their way when the realize that.

Except, it’s Rey.

She’s holding a small chocolate cupcake in her hands and is wearing a faded yellow dress with her hair down. Ben has never seen her in a dress. Or with her hair down. He forgets how to talk for a moment.

“I found a couple of quarters in some old gumball machine and the bus driver told me that he wouldn’t charge me for the ride back as long as I came back in two hours. And I made you this!” She shoves the cupcake to Ben. “It’s just one of the mug cake things I found on yahoo but I didn’t want to come over without a gift so… take it.”

Ben takes the sweet in his hands and thinks of all those years ago when Rey didn’t have any food for herself and now she’s brought some to him. He remembers that bone-crushing hug she gave him the first time he ever brought her a lunchbox, and decides its high time to return the favor.

* * *

**8th Grade**

Ben eyes the bonfire currently burning in Poe’s backyard with suspicion. One, it’s much bigger than something to be burnt without the fire department present, and two, Rey is standing much too close to it for comfort.

Ben tries to subtly move the group back so that Rey isn’t standing next to the open flame, but she protest every time.

“Benjamin, I’m not a caveman; I know fire can hurt me,” She says rolling her eyes.

“Considering how close you’re standing, I kind of doubt that.”

“I’m not moving, Ben. It’s the middle of December, I’m freezing, and I want to stand next to the fire. If you’re so scared, you’re welcome to go inside,” She says, standing her ground.

Instead of trying to fight with her, Ben just shrugs off one of his jackets and stuffs Rey into it. “There! Now can we please just move, like, five feet away?” Ben semi-yells.

He’s not sure if its the glow of the fire, but Ben swears he can see Rey’s cheeks turn pink. She shuffles away from the fire without further arguing. Ben sighs in relief.

“Alright gang,” Poe says, clapping Ben roughly on the back, “Will you be joining us for a little round of spin the bottle?” Poe waggles his eyebrows at Rey and Ben curls his hand into a fist.

“I can’t play. Jannah is my cousin and I am not about to risk that,” Ben says, shrugging Poe’s hand off his shoulder.

“Ugh, Ben, always such a party pooper. What about it, Rey, wanna join us? I know Finn would like it if you did?” Poe asks. Ben tightens his fist so much that he’s worried his nails will break the skin.

“I think I’ll sit this one out too… sorry,” She says, tugging Ben’s coat closer. Ben is unwilling to think about why this relieves him so much.

“Oh come on, that only leaves like 7 people! It’s not like you have a cousin you don’t wanna kiss!”

“Poe!” Ben says, pushing him back. “What the fuck? Don’t say that,” Ben shouts.

“Dude calm down, it’s just a joke. You don’t have to-”

Rey walks past them, heading towards the exit, making Ben’s eyes trail after her and miss the rest of why Poe was saying. He doesn’t really care anyways; he just wants to go after Rey.

Ben races towards her and falls in step with her after a moment. She doesn’t stop, just continues on ahead down the road.

He realizes she’s walking back home, and even though its a little out of the way for him, he follows her. His mom can come pick him up anywhere.

They don’t talk, the only sound is that of their shoes hitting the pavement. It’s cold out, which is not unusual for mid December, and Ben is glad he gave Rey his jacket when he did.

“Poe had no right to say that… it was a cheap shot. I’m sorry,” Ben says after a minute. Rey shrugs.

“Poe doesn’t think before he speaks, if he thinks at all. I just…” She trails off. Suddenly she stops walking, eyes looking towards a house down the road, blinking in Christmas lights lawn ornaments. They can fairly hear some Christmas music playing. Ben stops too and looks at Rey.

“Rey? Are you okay?”

She takes a minute before she responds. “My parents abounded me on Christmas day. They left me at a fire station in Niima, Jakku. That’s where I get my last name from. I don’t know if I ever told you that,” She turns to Ben, “but I wanted you to know.”

They stare at each other, in the multi-colored glow of cheap Christmas lights. She’s beautiful, always is, but especially in his jacket. She’s his best friend, always has been, always will be.

Ben is thinking that she’ll actually be more than that.

“Why didn’t you want to play spin the bottle?” He asks her after a minute, voice low.

“Because…” she hesitates, “…the only person who I would want to kiss wasn’t going to be playing.”

Ben surges forward, pressing his lips to Rey’s with such a force, he almost knocks them back.

It’s both of their first kiss. She tastes like the gingerbread Leia had given her earlier when she drove them to the house and a little bit like the smoke from the fire. It’s a closed-mouth, scrunched up face kind of kiss, where their noses bump and Ben has to lean down at an awkward angle, but it’s absolutely perfect.

When Ben finally pulls back, he can’t hold back the lopsided grin overtaking his face. They smile, goofy and shy, but happier than either of them have ever been. Ben kisses her again just for the heck of it.

The walk back to Plutt’s place hand in hand, stopping periodically to kiss or hug or just look at each other. It’s the best night of Ben’s life.

* * *

**11th Grade**

Ben sit’s on the bleachers, his calculus book open on his lap, while Rose looks up the correct formula for the question. Ben should be helping her, but he can’t take his eyes off Rey. She’s on the field, dressed in her green and white practice uniform, practicing dribbling with the soccer ball. She’s a striker, because _of course_ she is, and can run circles around everyone else on the field. Ben doesn’t like it when she gets shoved or pushed, but that’s the game and he knows Rey will let him kiss her bruises later.

It’s fall and daylight savings just came last week, meaning that it’s only 4:30 but the sun is already almost down, casting the field in a golden glow, and making Rey’s freckles stand out.

“Hellooooo… earth to Ben…” Rose says, waving her hand in front of his face. Ben snaps back and looks at her.

“Did you find it?” He asks.

“Yeah, no thanks to you. Don’t you two ever get tired of looking at one another? It’s like you two have never seen each other before even though you spend _literally_ every moment together,” Rose says.

“Do you ever get tired of looking at Finn?” Ben teases her, making Rose toss her eraser at him and blush.

“Shut up! That’s totally different. I don’t look at Finn because I like him, I look at him because he’s annoying,” She grumbles. Ben laughs and decides not to push her further. Instead, he opts to look back down at Rey, who’s lining up to practice free kicks, and sinks every single one into the back of the net.

Ben shouts and claps, making all the other students look up at him and Rose just laughs. It doesn’t bother Ben; he’ll cheer for his girlfriend for literally any reason. Rey glances up at him, smiling so big he can see her dimples from the bleachers. He wishes he was closer so that he could kiss them, but the last time he tried that, Coach Tano banned him from the practice field for a whole week. Hence, Rose forcing them to sit further up.

Still, Rey’s smile makes Ben feel warm even in the harsh breeze of mid fall.

-

“So I was thinking about Halloween,” Rey says as she and Ben pile into his car. It’s an old car that Rey and Han will talk about for hours but completely goes over Ben’s head. She helped Han restore it for his 16th birthday last year, working on it in secret for months, and helped him name it Silencer.

“Oh yeah?” He asks.

“Yeah, I’ve decided on what we will be going as… drumroll please,” She asks and Ben beats his palms on the top of the steering wheel for a minute before she shouts “Harry Potter characters! It’ll be perfect! I found this huge piece of black fabric at Goodwill the other day so we can just make our robes from that and go back and find ties! We already have everything else so we’ll just need a red tie for me because I’m a Gryffindor, obviously, and blue one for you! What do you say?” She finishes, looking up at Ben with big eyes.

“It sounds perfect,” He says. Rey squeals before planting her lips on his.

They’ve gotten much better at the whole kissing thing, after a ton of practice of course. Ben still fondly thinks of those first few make out sessions in the treehouse of his backyard. Ben pulls away before the kiss gets too heated, causing Rey to pout.

It only lasts a moment though, because Ben pulls out the snack container he’s taken to pack and putting in his car every day she has practice. Leia packed them lunches every year, and still would, if Ben hadn’t taken over once he decided to become vegan. Rey is still a mess when she eats, leaving traces of the peanut butter and cinnamon from her apples all over he cheeks, but Ben just uses that as an excuse to kiss it off her skin.

Ben looks at her while she digs in, messy and a little uncouth, but unapologetically Rey. He hasn’t told her he loves her yet because they’re only 17 and people say that kids that young don’t really know what love means.

But Ben does.

Because when Rey looks up at him, cheeks stuffed with apples and crackers, smiling with her mouth full and eyes scrunched, he knows that what he and Rey have is love.

* * *

**Sophomore Year**

The blaring alarm clock was no match to Ben’s fist. He and Rey had gone through about five of them this semester alone. After a stern talking too from Rey while she held the broken springs and plastic from the last of Ben’s victims, he had been attempting to be gentler with it.

But it’s Monday and Rey is currently curled into his chest because that was the only place for her to go in the tight twin-xl bed of his dorm. So he really can’t be blamed for smashing it this time.

To her credit, Rey doesn’t outright get mad at him (which she rarely does anyway), she just groans into his chest.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, voice muffled by her hair. She must not mind that much because she plants a sloppy wet kiss to the center of his chest and up his neck.

“You can’t,” _kiss_ , “keep,” _kiss_ , “breaking _them_ ,” kiss, “Ben,” _kiss_. He can only sigh and hold her tighter.

While on paper this dorm room is Ben and Finn’s, it actually belonged to Ben and Rey. Once Finn and Rose finally started dating last year, it just made sense for them to do a switcharoo. Rose and Finn stayed in what was actually Rey and Roses’ room, while they stayed in Ben and Finn’s room. It was the perfect arrangement.

Until they actually had to get out of bed to go to class, and Ben _really_ didn’t want to let his girlfriend go. It was late winter, nearly spring, but snow was still on the ground in Chandrila and Rey never liked the cold.

“Lets skip class today,” She said, somehow reading his mind, “I only have two classes and you have a 4.0 so we can take one day, can’t we?” She asks.

Ben contemplated opening his eyes. If he didn’t, Ben wouldn’t fall prey to the puppy-dog pout Rey was currently giving him and they would have to go to class and be good students. But if he opened them, seeing his beautiful, wonderful, love-of-his-life girlfriend with that expression, he knows they won’t make it out of the bed today.

So Ben decides to compromise.

“How about… we skip morning classes and pretend to be good students and go to our afternoon classes? I’ve got a meeting with the department head at 3, and I can’t miss it, but I don’t think Dr. Ackbar will mind if I miss his first class…. that sound okay?”

Ben peaks open an eye to see what Rey thinks, and is met with her brightest smile. She plants a wet, morning-breath kiss right on his lips and nuzzles into his shoulder.

“Sounds perfect.”

-

Ben shifts in his seat nervously. He looks at the waiting area, with a few other students like himself. It’s Dr. Erso’s only day for office hours and each student is only allotted 15 minutes to speak with the Department of Education head.

Chandrila University was a smaller school but known well for their amazing Education program. All students were required to meet with the department head before being able to officially declare Education as their major, and with Ben nearing the end of his sophomore year, it was finally time.

Ben wasn’t the best interviewee. He came off as abrasive or cold or too much, or so his guidance counselor in high school told him. Part of him knew that was true, but another part of him was still a little happy that Rey dismantle every piece of furniture in his office the next day.

His phone buzzed in his sweaty palm and Ben quickly glanced at the time (still 4 minutes until his meeting) before looking at the text. It was from Rey and contained a cute picture of her holding up the thermos he’d packed her, to her lips. ‘ _thx u 4 my lunch bby! i know ur gonna crush ur meeting crushin this lunch u packed me xoxo’_ the message read.

Ben stared down at the photo, saving it and making it his new wallpaper, until he heard his name be called. Ben walked into the office, having to duck into the door way before being greeted by Dr. Erso.

“Benjamin Solo?” She asked, holding her hand out.

“Yeah…er, just Ben, actually,” He corrected, shaking her extended hand.

“Have a seat, Ben,” She told him. He did so right away.

“Alright, I have your transcripts right here… seems like you’ve completed all our general education courses, congratulations…” Dr. Erso trailed off.

“Thanks,” Ben mumbles.

“… and a couple of major specific courses, all with A’s.” She sets the papers down onto her desk and looks up at Ben. “You’re a perfect candidate for our department, but I do need to ask you one question.”

Ben nods, gulping slightly, and thinking back to Rey’s message of endearment.

“Why do you want to be a teacher?” She asks after a moment.

_Oh_. This, he can answer easily.

“My girlfriend,” He tells Dr. Erso.

“Is she a teacher as well?” She asks.

“No, I uh- I met my girlfriend in school. Kindergarten, actually. Which is, also, what I want to teach.”

Dr. Erso looks at him expectantly, nodding for him to go on.

“She started school a few weeks after everyone else because she’d just been transferred to a foster home in Alderaan. Some kid had found out that she was an orphan and told the whole school, so everyone sort of stayed away from her when she first came in. Her foster father was the worst kind of person; only took her in for the money. He didn’t get her clothes or a room of her own, didn’t even feed her.

“She was assigned to sit next to me on the very first day. We didn’t talk, not really, for a long time, but we were always beside each other. I honestly can’t remember if I followed her or she followed me, but I’m thankful regardless. One day, I offered her an apple because I’d never seen her eat lunch and she cried. I’ll never forget going home to my mom that night and telling- not asking- telling her to pack me a second lunch for Rey. So she did.

“Rey tells me that I’m the first person who ever noticed anything was wrong and actually did something about it. It kills me to think of all the teachers that saw what this little girl was being put though and didn’t have the time or the knowledge to help her in any way. I know you can’t solve every child’s problems, and that severe cases like my girlfriend don’t aways come around, but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try.

“I want to help kids. I want to be a source of knowledge and fun and love. I want my students to be able to come to me and tell me if they need help, in anything at all. I don’t know what would have happened to Rey if she never sat beside me, and thinking about it makes me sick. I don’t want any other child to have to wait until the kid sitting next to them offers help. I know its a little dreamer-esque, but its what I want.

“I got to meet my soulmate because the teacher assigned her to sit next to me. I hope that I could do that for another kid.”

Dr. Erso takes her glasses off her face, letting them drop down to the desk in front of her. She looks at Ben with a small smile on her face before standing up and sticking out her hand. Ben is confused for a moment, but still stands and takes her hand in his.

“Welcome to our program, Ben. I think you’ll make a wonderful teacher.”

* * *

**Senior Year**

“You may not move.” Jannah have Ben the dirtiest look she could muster. He would never admit it, but his cousin was... rather scary. So Ben lied.

“I won’t.” She didn’t look like she believed him. “I swear.”

“It’s for your own good if you don’t. Kaydel will _actually_ murder you if you mess up her make up. She’s doing the pictures too, so, she’ll know.”

“I know who my own wedding photographer is,” Ben deadpanned.

“Just making sure,” she held her hands up in defense. “So, to recap, don’t. move.”

“I won’t!”

He totally would. He was already planning his break out.

“Good; now,” Jannah straightened the lapels of his suit, “good luck out there. Don’t forget any of your line.” Ben smiled softly.

“I’ve got the all memorized, don’t worry about me,” He said. She left him with a peck on the cheek, a wide smile, and another reminder not to move. He ignored it.

As soon as the coast was clear, Ben began his escape. He quietly opened and closed the doors leading to the garden after checking to see if anyone was out there, then began fast-walking while ducking to get around the house to the side entrance, where Rey would be.

He was almost there before a spot of fiery red hair blocked his way.

“ _Are you out of your mind?_ ” Hux whisper-screamed at him, glancing cautiously to the window to the kitchen. “Your mother AND Kaydel are right in there! If they see you sneaking into Rey’s room, they’ll have your arse!”

“Come on, Hux. I just want to see her before the wedding. You’re one of my groomsmen, shouldn’t you be helping me out instead of turning against me on my wedding day?” Ben asked. Hux huffed.

“Can the two of you seriously not go 12 hours without seeing each other? You were together at the rehearsal dinner? Is that really too long of a time for you to go?”

It hadn’t even been that long, actually. When they were separated after dinner, Ben to Poe’s house, Rey to his parents, Ben had called her and told her how he couldn’t sleep without her. Naturally, Rey felt the same way, so she snuck into Poe’s house and spent the night in Ben’s arms, where she belonged. Ben was worried Hux and Poe had noticed, but the two of them were… otherwise occupied.

“You and Poe couldn’t even keep your hands off each other for one night! Our rooms shared a wall, by the way, so I heard everything. I don’t think I need the ‘hand’s off’ speech from you, too,” Ben told him. The red-head turned red all over.

“That is totally different. Poe is insatiable and we’ve had a lot less time to… have fun together than you and Rey have.”

Ben rolled his eyes. “Look, if you help me out now, I’ll return the favor by _no-so-subtly_ hinting to Poe that you want a wedding of your own, okay?”

“Ugh, fine! But tell you’re best man that I want a platinum engagement ring, none of the lesser metals,” Hux conceded.

“Will do; now, go clear the way,” Ben said, trying to peak into the kitchen to see if his mother was still in there. Hux grumbled something about horny teenagers, but gave Ben the thumb’s up after a minute.

Ben slipped inside of the Bridal Suite after a few quick rasps, lucky going unnoticed by any prying eyes. He looked out the door as he shut it, just to make sure.

“Ben,” He heard Rey gasp behind him, causing him to instantly turn around.

Before him, Rey stood in the silky-white wedding dress Maz made especially for her, out of his mother’s old one. It flowed against her body as she stood up, making her look like an angel coming towards him. Ben couldn’t breathe. When he finally looked at Rey’s face, there were tears in his eyes, threatening to spill over at any second.

“Rey- I,” He began, but couldn't finish. The way she was smiling, in her wedding dress, about to marry him; Ben had never felt anything like this. She giggled lightly at his ogling.

“How do you like it?” She asks, twirling for him. By the time she made it back around, Ben was right in front of her and steadied her as she stopped moving.

“Hi,” She breathed.

“Hi.”

They smiled at each other like fools for a minute, taking each other in. But when Rey started frowning, Ben got worried.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Kaydel is going to be _pissed_ she missed the first look. She didn’t think you’d be able to make it past Jannah’s clutches,” She told him.

“What Kaydel doesn’t know won’t kill her. Besides, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble looking blown away by you again, sweetheart,” Ben says, pressing quick peck behind her ear, where he was sure to avoid messing her make up. Rey giggled under his touch, but wrapped her arms around his torso to lean against him. Rey sighed contentedly when his arms cam to wrap around her waist.

“We’re going to be _married_ ,” She said, voice almost a whisper.

“You’re going to be _my wife_.”

“And you’re going to be _my husband_ … mhmmm, I like the way that sounds.” Ben could hear the smile in her voice.

They stayed like that for a minute before Ben remembered something. “Oh- I got you something.”

Ben released her and dug around in his pocket for a minute before producing a small plastic sandwich bag, filled with apple slices. “I figured you could use a sna-”

Rey snatched the bag out of his hand in record speed, gobbling down the slices with a comically large mouth.

“Ugh, you’re the best,” Rey said, mouth full. “I haven’t eaten in like… four hours!” Ben just laughed and watched as his future wife stuffed her face.

Their privacy was interrupted when a loud banging on the door began. “BENJAMIN AND REY, IF YOU TOO HAVE A HAIR OUT OF PLACE FOR THESE PICTURES, I WILL PHOTOSHOP DICKS INTO EVER ONE I TAKE!” Kaydel screeched. They looked at each other like deers in headlights, before stuffing the now empty bag into the trash can and helping Ben make a speedy getaway from the back door.

Just before he was out, Rey snatched his chest back, and planted a closed-mouth, hard kiss onto his lips. It reminded him of their first, nearly twelve years ago. When she pulled away, Rey had a wide smile with messed-up lipstick around her mouth.

Ben had never loved her more.

* * *

**Kindergarten, Again**

“Girls!” Ben shouts up the stairs, “it’s almost time to leave. Are you ready?”

What sounds like a heard of rhinos begins to shuffle around upstairs as Ben continues packing their lunches. Hana coos from her high chair, munching on the Cheerio’s Ben has put on her tray.

After a moment, Ben hears his eldest daughter hopping down the stairs before she lands in the kitchen.

“Ta-Da!” Maé shouts, making her sister laugh. Maé has her USA Women’s Soccer Jersey on, tucked into the tulle purple skirt she wore for her fairy costume last Halloween. Rey comes sauntering down behind her, barely concealing a laugh.

“Wowwwwww...” Ben says. “That’s quite the first day outfit you’re wearing, Maé.”

“Thanks Daddy!” She says before helping her sister with holding the Cheerios. Ben gives a ‘Dad Look’ to Rey who just shrugs and pecks his cheek.

“She wanted to wear it and I want her to be comfortable, so...” Rey tells him, snagging a piece of bacon from the counter. “I packed some bike shorts in her backpack if she changes her mind.”

Ben just hums and imagines Hux’s face when his daughter will walk into his classroom. Suddenly, Ben is much happier with his daughters choices.

“Daddy?” Maé asks, “Are you sure I can’t be in your class? I mean... I don’t think anyone will mind that you’re my daddy...”

Ben and Rey share a look, one that they’ve shared plenty of times since becoming parents. Ben squats down to be eye level with Maé and brushes some residual crumbs off her cheek from breakfast.

“Now Maé, we’ve talked about this. It would be unfair if I was your teacher because I would treat you differently than the rest of your classmates. Plus, aren’t you excited to be in Uncle Armies class? His classroom looks super fancy this year...” Ben tells her.

Maé shrugs her shoulders and doesn’t seem to be too enthused. “But what if no one in my class likes me? What if I have to eat lunch all alone? Uncle Armie won’t sit with me because he says the only thing I can digest is refined sugar?”

“Well, I don’t think that’s going to happen, but if it does, you can find another kid who doesn’t have anyone around and sit with them. Who knows, you may meet your best friend that way: I did.” Ben gives a wink to Rey who is holding Hana in her arms now. Just barely, Ben sees the hint of a blush on her cheeks.

“You did?” Maé asks, suddenly excited. “Who?”

“That,” Rey pipes up, “would be a good story for the car, don’t you think so, my love?”

“Momma is right. Why don’t you go put on shoes and I’ll tell you in the car, okay?”

Ben asks. Maé immediately hops up and goes to the closet for her shoes.

“I’m gonna wear my swim shoes Uncle Poe got me!” She shouts sprinting down the hallway. Rey snorts laughter as Ben sighs.

“There is no way I was involved in the creation of that child. Nope, that was all you,” Ben says, making Rey scoff and feign shock.

“You see this mop of curly, black hair she and this one have!” Rey joss led Hana on her hip, making the baby giggle. Ben presses a kiss to his daughters head, brushing off some rogue cheerio crumbs.

Ben leans back on the kitchen counter, observing his wife and daughter for a minute. In the hectic pace of parenthood, having a moment like this to appreciate his little family was a rare gift.

“Let’s see what Daddy packed us for lunch today...” Rey says, peering into the lunch he still packs for his wife, after all these years. Rey looks at the contents with an over exaggerated flare to entertain Hana and making him laugh with them.

“You sure she’s okay at the shop? I don’t want my dad to give you a hard time about it,” Ben asks Rey.

“Oh please, your dad LOVES having her there. Gives him an excuse to take a break and act silly. And she love all the strange noises Uncle Chewie makes. Honestly we’ll have a harder time getting her out of the shop than we did with Maé,” she tells him.

Ben smiles to himself, picturing his father and uncle entertaining his children.

Maé comes bursting back in the room, now sporting neon swim shoes and her Galaxy Battles backpack, featuring her favorite sequel trilogy characters, Kylo Ren and Kira.

It reminds Ben of the lunch box he gave to Rey, back when it was them in kindergarten. They still have it, as a memento box in the top drawer in their room. Over the years it’s filled with trinkets that signified big moments in their life, including the core of the apple Ben first gave to Rey, the candle on the cupcake she brought him for their 5th grade graduation, class rings, positive pregnancy sticks, Maé’s first tooth, etc.

Rey hugs Maé for a while, whispering sweet endearments for their daughter to remember, telling her how proud she is and how much she loves her. After Rey plants a kiss on her cheeks, Maé shouts “Race you to the car, Daddy!” Before taking off.

They both look after her for a minute, Rey leaning into Ben and resting her head on his shoulder.

“Do you ever think back? To when we met, I mean. You remember it, right?” He asks her.

Rey looks back up at him, warm, toothy smile he’s grown so used to seeing (but still cherishes every one).

“Of corse I do,” Rey tells Ben. “Because it’s the day I fell in love with you.”

* * *

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on twitter and [tumblr](https://ehstarwar.tumblr.com)!


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